Method of and means fob producing



Feb 27, 1945- E. c. v. OLDOFREDX 2 ,370,186

METHODS OF AND MEANS FOR PRODUCI NG DECORATED MATERIAL Filed Feb. 2,1942 INVENTOR: jdgarf VUldq/rcfdz Patented F eb. 27, 1945 METHOD OF ANDMEANS FOR PRODUCING DECORATED MATERIAL Edgar C. V. Oldoi'redi, New York,N. Y. Application February 2, I942, Serial No. 429.298, 6 Claims. (c1.1o1 2s) This invention relates to methods of and means for producingdecorated material and relates more particularly to methods of and meansfor producing decorated sheet sheets of Celluloid and plastics ingeneral, leather, paper, board and other materials likewise. It providesmeans for obtaining a novel three-dimensional effect similar to theappearance of embossing, debossing, pebbling. perforating, etc., byworking apattern or design into the material itself.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a method of working athree-dimbnsional design into a final material and producing thereby anovel efifect and appearance of said material.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for working adesign into a final material.

metal, textile fabric,

Also letterpress A further object is to provide a method of producing adesign which comprises impressing said design into a screen bydepressing a portion of its surface, corresponding to the area andcontour of the design, and thereafter reproducing said design therefrominto a final material.

Another object is to provide means of and a method for reproducing anartificial watermark and a shaded watermark into paper of any suitablegrade and colour, by working it into the finished paper.

Another object is to provide an article for reproducing a design into afinal material,.said article being inexpensiv and substantiallyindestructible.

Another object is to provide an article for producing a design into afinal material, said article being light in weight and small in size.

Another object is to provide such an article which will be easy to cleanand to protect from corrosion.

Another object is to provide means for working a design into a finalmaterial for the utilizing of which unskilled labor may be employed.

Another object is to ducing a design, which comprises a succession ofsteps, each one of which may be madeeasily and speedily, and for each ofwhich unskilled labor may be employed to carry out the same.

Another obiect'is to provide an article into which a number of designsmaybe formed successively, and which may be utilized to reproduce all ofthe designs simultaneously onto a material.

Anotherobject is to provide a method of and means for protecting writtencommercial paper or documents against alteration of the signatures orother data having been written thereupon before.

provide a method of pro- Further objects and advantages of the inventionwill be in part set forth in the following specification and in partwill be obvious therefrom withou: being specifically pointed out.

Heretofore, embossing, debossing, indenting and perforating as well asany other threedimensional marking was done by brass or steel reliefdies and corresponding female dies, both either in plate form for flatbed pressing or for the use on steel rolls, the pattern or design beingengraved or partly etched into the male die.

types, photo-engravings, woodcuts, electrotypes, etc., have been usedfor light embossing on soft materials, but such substitutes do not givesatisfactory results on finer jobs, owing to the softness anddeformability of finer lines on such dies made from type alloy oretchable metals like zinc and copper.

On electrotypes, also the lead backing represents another difliculty foruse in embossing. All such dies are not suiliciently rigid andstrong toinsure good work; they soon wear out and cannot be re-engraved.Therefore, the commonly used method throughout the related arts consistsin applications of the Gaufrage process, the use of engraved steelcylinders as male dies working against a female or counter roll usuallyof papier mach or cotton. The pattern has to be worked into the latterby a preceding operation, rolling in the male die after dampening. Forheavy work such as metal sheet rolling or high class work on othermaterials two engraved steel rolls are necessary. In

light embossing of short runs such as book covers,

seals and similar paper work, also brass types and brass dies are used.In most embossing, debossing and indenting work heavy pressure is usednecessitating expensive machinery or heavy calenders. Heat, dampeningand other auxiliary methods are employed for facilitating the formmg.

Softer metals, such as copper, brass and zinc, can be routed byhand-operated, motor-driven routing machine; such routed cylinders areusable on softer materials only,'finer parts have to be finished byhand.

Steel or other tough dies have to be engraved by hand or hand-operatedapparatus'or preetched and then finished by skilled work.

An entirely photo-mechanical preparation of steel rolls or brass dies isnot possible if finer details are to be represented.

For embossing rolls and plates a high grade, entirely uniform steel isused, such as Sheflield steel, and hardening is often required.

Thus, in the present art expensive material and wire fabric II work isrequired in making any kind of embossing, indenting or perforating andconsiderable time is required in preparing a more intricate pattern, asone engraver at a time only can work on each cylinder. The manufactureof embossed or otherwise three-dimensional decorated products isconsiderably handicapped by this expensiveness and by the time elementinvolved. These obstacles are prohibitive in providing embossed patternsfor short runs, and individualisation and styling of the designs as wellas seasonal and fashionable changes are rendered very difiicult.

With the above and other objects of the invention in view, the inventionconsists in the novel methods, construction, arrangements andcombination of various elements, devices, and parts, asset forth in theclaims hereof, certain embodiments of the same being illustrated in theaccompanying drawing and described in the specification.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 discloses the drawing of a design, the letter A having beenselected for purpose of illustration.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same letter A having been out out ofa suitable material to serve as a master for the design to bereproduced,

Fi 3 is a front elevation showing a wire fabric in cross section and themaster impressed thereon,

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the wire fabric having impressions on itssurface, the material to receive the design in reproduction shown placedthereabove, having the design upon it,

Fig. 5 is a cross section through a wire fabric having receivedimpressions of the same design on both surfaces,

Fig. 6 is a cross section through a wire fabric' having a perforation,

Fig. 7 discloses a schematic side view of a machine having a rollcarrying a wire screen, a counter roll, and the material being workedupon. The roll carrying the fabric is shown resiliently held inposition,

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of an apparatus for impressing designsfrom the side simultaneously to a plurality of sheets of material, and

Fig: 9 is a cross section through a final material after having beensubjected under pressure to two screens, one from above and one frombelow.

In the description of the drawing in which similar numerals designatesimilar parts throughout, It indicates a design to be reproduced in amaterial. A master H is made therefrom in any suitable mannerhereinafter set forth in detail. The master I I is thereafter impressedinto a wire fabric If by the @plication of small pressure, sumcient,however, to deform and tten some of the weavings corresponding to theshape and outline and contour of the master. Said wire screen or fabricI! having its permanent impressions produced by the master Ii is thenplaced in contact with the surface ll of a material ll for impartingthereupon the shape of the design III while being subjected to pressure.Small elevations i5 resulting from the mesh of the fabric I2 will beimparted to the surface l3 of the material N. In the machine shown inFig. 7, the isdisclosedbeinginform ofa sleeve over the roll it andbeingsecured thereto for following the rotation of the roll withoutslippin -Between the sleeve formed by the fabric I2 eral methods.

upper and lower and the roll 16 a layer of rubber I1 is provided. Thematerial H is rolled through the machine in contact with the fabric l2and the counter roll ii. A spring 20 provides a resilient pressure ofthe roll l2 on the material ll, said pressure being variableby theexchange of a weight 2| carried by an extension lever 22 of the rollcarrier 23,

,said carrier being connected with relation to the frame of the machinein a pivotal manner. The machine shown in Fig. 8 consists of two frameplates 24 carrying rubber plates l1 for providing resiliency to the wirefabrics I! placed thereon for working upon a plurality of sheets ofmaterial ll.

In accordance with my invention, the decorating of material is achievedby first preparing a wire fabric into which a design has been suitablyimpressed, and thereafter utilizing the screen containing'the design toimpress the same into the surface of the material to be decorated.

For the working into the fabric I! of the master I l in a preparatoryoperation I have devised sev- After that, the treated fabric can be usedimmediately as a master for working the material to be decorated, aswill be hereinto the shape and contour of the design. The

parts that are thus impressed in the weaving of the fabric provide anegative form of the design as it will appear later on in positive formin the final material. The outlines of the design appear embedded in thesurface of the screen or fabric l2.

The impression on the fabric and thereby the relative flattening of theportions to become the negative of the design may be done by creating arelative depth in the surface of the fabric, or these portions may beremoved entirely by cutting through the fabric, as shown in Fig. 6. If adepressing of the surface is made, the depth of it has to be determinedin relation to the thickness of the material to be worked upon and theheight of the raised effects desiredllthereon.

This depressing may be done in various degrees of depth, from a slightsuperficial depressing to 'a very deep one, by regulating the pressureemployed in the apparatus used therefor, such apparatus being well knownin the art of printing and reproducing.

The results obtained in working from such fabrics employed as mastersare amazing, in comparison with methods and apparatus employedheretofore, as the finished work shows faithful reproductions ofvariousdegrees of impression on the fabric. Thus I have, achieved noveland unusual effects by the simple means of impressing the samepatternseveral times on the same fabric master, but in' various degreesof depth, the impressions being made close to one another or across eachother.

The work product with a fabric containing such a combination ofimpressions shows unique The reproducing of the design into the fabricmay be done in different ways depending on the character of the designemployed and on the necessary fineness of reproduction required. Thefollowing description is intended to disclose a few of the methods outof a multitude that I have found to be practicable, and it will beunderstood that the same result may be accomplished in many other wayswithout departing from the spirit of my invention within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Designs consisting of plain outlines, signatures, etc. may be workedinto the fabric directly by hand. The work is done by employing toolssuch as used by engravers or moulders; also any hand tool which maybepower driven, such as a router, may be used.

Such handworking, of course, is limited to designs having simpleoutlines; the advantage offered by my method lies in the easyapplication of various mechanical resources for simple reproduction ofeven the most intricate designs into the fabric.

Signatures, plain letters, and other outlined designs have been cut outby me by various methods, such as jig sawing, etching, hand cutting, andvarious others, from any tough material, like hard fiber, pressboard,sheet metal or the like, using it as masters H for a-subsequentreproduction thereof into the fabric i2.

These masters are used as punch, pressing them into the fabric, thepressing being done by rolling the fabric 82 and the punch or master llthrough a matrix mould or a similar suitable pressure device.

The design is thereby instantaneously reproduced into the fabric withall its inherent details. Care should be exercised in utilizing theproper punch, in accordance with the desired height of thethree-dimensional result in the finished product and in accordance withthe mesh and toughness of the fabric used.

For the reproduction of linear ornaments even simpler means areavailable. Any suitable straight piece of board or metal may be used aspunch by pressing it into the fabric.

This process can be repeated numerous times placing one embedded linebeside the other or across each other in the fabric, by a method hereinabove described, for obtaining" shaded effects and producing anornamental pattern of any desired size by employing only one tool, at anegligible cost.

The same procedures of repeating the impressions have been used by me,employing various kinds of punches, obtaining most beautiful and amazingresults thereby. The feature of using a single piece of punch forpreparing a large sized master fabric ill by reproducing it from themaster ii, and combining various degrees of shading I consider to be amajor advantage of this process over methods heretofore used, due to thesimplicity and inexpensiveness of my process.

By preparing a set of letters, such as shown in Fig. 2, the letter Abeing designated l i, any combination of lettering may be composed andreproduced into the fabric 52. Such alphabets may be used over againrepeatedly and their use makes available a means of transcribing.Likewise, circles, squares and many other geometrical or still othersymbols maybe used in'the composition of different patterns.

By pressing a coarse mesh fabric into the master fabric it, I haveachieved intricate, new and beautiful efl'ects. Choosing the properangles, any silky or moir effect is obtainable thereby, this methodbeing advantageous because of its simplicity, and the minimum of effortor skill required; it permits to reproduce moir effects in manymaterials not decorable in thi pattern heretofore.

For preparing the masters H fancy cut-outs, .metal stampings and varioussimilar decorative patterns may be used with good results.

- For transferring the finest details I use any photo engraving asintermediate process, in fact, any design which may be reproduced byphoto engraving may be transferred on a master ll thereby. Any commonzinc photo engraving, linecut, as well as woodcut, or electrotypethereof, or a stereotype may be used. No special plating or hardening isrequired for this master I l the photo engraving does not need to berouted or blocked, nor is deep etching required as for printing purposes, thus entailing savings in time and cost. These master H aresubsequently reproduced into the fabric i2 by means and methods hereinabove described.

From this reproduction into the fabric, a fabric master results that mayimmediately be employed for the ensuing process.

My process also provides that the design may be applied in such a waythat it is usable for reproduction in reverse as well as obverse. Forthis purpose I impress the punch for about two thirds of the thicknessinto the fabric. There after, I run the fabric through a pressureappliance, the impressed surface of said fabric being placed against arubber plate or blanket as a counter. This procedure is repeated severaltimes under progressively increasing pressure until the designimpression is placed in the midway portion of the thickness of thefabric as shown in Fig. 5. In this way the fabric is prepared for theuse on both sides thereof.

I believe this to be the only method of preparing a substitute dieworking on either side with unifornrefiect; the advantages are twofold:the

' fabric may be turned around in case one side should have becomedamaged and, also, every design may be shown in different ways.Portraits look diiferent in reverse from the obverse, and anyunsymmetrical pattern is available by this method in a distinct varietyof alternation.

The present art also fails to provide means of duplicating ormultiplying plates or rolls for embossing or perforating. The advantageof such a multiplying is obvious, for instance, in creating seasonal orstandard patterns. for a number of users at the same time withoutmultiplying the original expense. The printing art makes considerableuse of electrotypes, matrices, and stereos for such purpose in asteadily increasing volume, and the demand for means of duplicating diesis great. My process as herein above described provides such mechanicalduplication at a very small cost, each duplicate having the quality ofth original. Most of the patterns used as masters for impressing thefabric, such as cutout designs or photo engravings, etc., may be usedfor many successive impressions into the fabric. But, when a largenumber of multiplications is required, it is advisable to haveelectrotypes or duplicates of other types made from the original patternor master, thus providing a far greater number of multiplied patterns,simultaneouslyin turn to be used for impressions into the fabric. Whenoutout or jig-sawed designs are used, duplicates of them may easily bemade in a single operation, or resistant materials may be substitutedfor softer originals, the resistant material preferably being chromiumor duraluminum thereby providing masters or patterns for indefinitelyrepeated use of coarse grained or finely grilled surface and,

preferably, the employment of heat in addition.

In this way I hav been able to prepare fabrics.

by using punches consisting of burlap or linen or laces. Even cut-outpaper letters, stencils, and lace doilies have been found reproducibleby using this method. I use a number of such doilies, etc.,simultaneously after previously registering and pasting them togetherand impregnating and-- substantially hardening them subsequently in aglue solution, and thereafter fixating all of them in this pile informaldehyde or a similar fixating agent.

Such soft tools, of course, are destroyed by working them into thefabric under the applied pressure. But aside from this ensuingdestruction of the pattern, a perfect and clear impression into thefabric is made and I have attained fine and detailed impressions intothe hardest fabrics by using the thinnest dailies and laces in thisprocess.

For applying this kind of pattern for the best results, meshes of finegrades of brass fabric, Monel fabric, or nickel alloys fabric should beused.

' to the backing plate 24 orroll ii for providing I have discovered thatwire fabrics made from resiliency necessary for the process ofreproducing of intricate patterns with all details. The use of such a.resilient blanket is feasible but not absolutely necessary. It' isessential, however,

' that the backing plate or roll itself be composed It is a unique factthat a medium such as a fabric should be workable enough to beimpressible by so soft a tool, yet, at the same time be hard enough towork satisfactorilyon long runs under pressure during the ensuingreproduction process to impart the design into a final material.

The qualities of wire fabrics make them usable for producing anunlimited number'and variety of inexpensive patterns for the reproducingof designs. a

I attribute the unusual effects to the important characteristic of wirefabric, namely, its requiring only a fraction of the pressure forobtaining three-dimensional impressions compared to the pressurenecessary for the same impression into full material of the samehardness as the elements in said fabric. Furthermore, it ischaracteristic of wire fabrics to transfer into the final material onlythe inherent fabric pattern corresponding to the design or the designsimpressed thereinto, instead of transferring a solid impression of theentire surface area. and shape.

The nucleus of my discovery and the invention based thereupon was tohave found that wire fabrics of a certain class of mesh, if combinedwith proper backing and corresponding counters possess suitablecharacteristics and qualities for reproducing designsimpressed intoofnon-resilient material provided with a smooth surface throughout. Mostsatisfactory results have been obtained by the use of metal or fibreplates, or rolls of the same material.

The resulting eflects are novel due to the appearance of beautifulpatterns on the final material, heretofore unknown. The wire fabricitself provides unique and interesting pattern of striking beauty due toan unlimited inherent variety of shades providing silky or moir effectsand numerous other patterns. Furthermore any special design or picture,however, intricate or detailed, may be faithfully reproduced on a finalmaterial by the use of wire mesh as a medium into which the design hasbeen impressed before, appearing outstanding against a fancy andalternating background provided by the reproduction of the fabricitself.

The wire fabric best suited for a special effect has to be chosen inaccordance with the quality of the pattern or design desired to'bereproduced, the intricacy of the reproduction required, the finalmaterial to receive the reproduction, and the quantity required to bereproduced.

I have obtained very good results using all the various meshes betweenNo. 40 and No. 250. A faithful reproduction of details. will result byusing finest mesh fabric as details are bound to belost to aconsiderable degree if coarser mesh is employed. Such wider mesh,however, provides a clearly discernible and outstanding screenbackground and, with suitable even a coarse mesh gives interestingreproductim of novel and distinctive appearance, althoughor justbecause--some details are suppressed. On artificial leather for a finalmaterial, and similar materials, I have obtained the best results byusing a coarse mesh in the neighborhood of No. 50.

The selection of a suitable mesh will have to follow artistic principlesconsidering design and material, rather than purely technical rules,

as observed in choosing half tone screens for refabric on a finalmaterial may be done by simply running it through any mechanicalappliance 1 adapted to press the wire fabric into the final materialwhile simultaneously backing it as above setforth.'Thismaybedoneaswellbyanyflnt press (see Fig. 8), as by fastening thefabric around a cylinder and using the rotary pressure process (see Fig.7). a

The effects obtainable by my method are -as shown in Fig. 8. In this llyvaried and modified by employing different counters (counter I 8, Fig.7). when a non-re-' silient counter is used, such as a smooth steelplate or steel cylinder, the effect results in an impression on thesurface of the final material only, the impression being imparted by thefabric l2 thereupon. By regulating the pressure of the roll it anydegree between superficial, slight indentation and a deep impressioninto the body of the final material may be. obtained. The latter effectresembles perforation, the many minute junctions of warp and shuteperformin a function similar to a function performed by an equal numberof perforating needles, and puncturing the final material.

If a resilient counter -is employed, such as a layer of rubber, felt, orboard, the pattern embedded in the wire fabric is pressed in and throughthe material, similar to embossing but different in appearance, due tothe characteristics of wirefabric. A still heavier effect is obtained bypro-impressing a counter board or roll and thus forming a female die ina preparatory run, similar to the corresponding operation inpre-embossing.

Diilerent and entirely novel effects are obtainable by using a secondwire fabric as counter, way, an unlimited number of varied and beautifulefiects is obtainable by changing the angles of the weave in the twofabrics in varying directions to each other.

Even on tough materials like sheet metal, as nickel, silver, etc., andon heavy sheet fibre, Celluloid, cellulose acetate and ;other plastics,I have obtained by using this method a variety of fancy patterns ofstriking beauty differing from each other to a marked degree. The effectof the two wire fabric method, as shown in Fig. 8 results in a much moreeflective impression compared to the one obtainable by the use ofordinary dies, and the impressions formed by the wire junctions andcrossings resul patterns. Even silky and moir effects can easily berepresented in silver, brass, or copper, an effect not obtainableheretofore even by using the most expensive dies.

In the same method by using two wire fabrics in the above way and byemploying the proper amount of pressure, I have achieved in Cellophanepaper, and other thin materials .novel effects closely related to shapedperforating, but having a unique appearance. Furthermore, a plurality ofup to 25 sheets may be worked upon in one operation as shown in Fig. 8.The perforation-like punctuation of the thin sheets goes through such apile, and perfect results are obtained in a very economical way.

The perforation-like punctuation of the material, a sample of whichbeing shown in Fig. 9 of the drawing provides means, if applied topaper, for protecting written, commercial paper or documents againstalteration of the signatures or other data having been inscribedthereupon. Material, such as paper to be protected against alteration ofinscriptions thereon, as shown in Fig. 9, will contain weave-likeelevations in crosswise directions impressed on both surfaces, inaddition to a design, if such design be desired therein. Furthermore,the impression from both wire fabrics may be so deep that the weave-likeelevations may be severed from each other, and perforations appear inthe material.

and above by two separate wire screens made.

The method disclosed opens up numerous imq portant advantages comparedtothe state of the ing any grade of finished in unique and attractive Itwill be understood that irrespective of the thicknessof the material,impressions from below present art; it-makes possible various novel anddistinctive. effects of unknown appearance in decorating various kindsof materials and a plurality of said material simultaneously, ifdesired, and provides an ent fancy patterns. also sil in materialswherein such available heretofore. 7 It provides an inexpensivesubstitute and may provide an imitation, of embossed, debossed,perforated, indented, and similar, three-dimensional efl'ect. I

It provides a means for. artificially watermarkpaper, even with a shadedwatermark, hitherto unknown for the purpose of. working it into my andfinished paper.

All theseefiects are obtainable by this method and moir patterns,

and means'in a delicateness of design and faith-' fulness ofreproduction of any pattern, superior to any previous method ofthree-dimensional decorating of final material.

The disclosed method provides means for all these effects in aninexpensive way, the cost being a fraction of the expense necessary inmaking a metal die of the same design and size. The considerabledifference in expense applies to the initial cost of the die metalitself as well as to the cost of engraving. Y

The dies of the usual solid kind are extremely heavy and often of a sizesurpassing the mail and air transportation limit of size or weightwhereas the wire fabrics used by this method are of very light weight.Therefore, the shipment of the prepared wire fabric to easilyandspeedily be done at low cost. The

handling and exchanging of the fabric in the machine may readily be doneby unskilled labor without requiring much time, whereas the changing ofa heavy steel cylinder-requires the help of several men and specialmachinery, such as a hoist. In working with pattern rolls, the removingand storing is an important part of the work, as often alternating jobsrequire an exchange of patterns. The storing, maintenance and cleaningof metal dies and their protection against corrosion is another problemwhich is easily solved by the use of wire fabric. Owing to the smallamount of material required for a wire fabric compared to a solid metaldie of the same size, expensive alloys may be used which could not beafforded on a similar die of the old type. Therefore, protection againstcorrosion and otherdamages may be attained by choosing noncorrosivemetal for the wire fabric.

Wire fabrics are not impaired by scratches or shocks, nor are theysubject to damage when dropped, whereas engravings on brass or steeldies are quickly injured by scratches or other damages.

Cleaning of wire fabrics is easily done by brushing it or blowing wateror a suitable cleaning fluid through its openings.

In treating materials under heat,, the heat passes freely through thefabric holes. whereas a solid die has to be made of thick metal and,therefore, absorbs most of the heat.

Steam may be led through the fabric and thus new dampening methods arepossible which may not be used while employing metal blocks.

Wire fabrics, if used in combination with ink, so that certain parts ofthe surface may be inked. and the ink imparted to the final material,promay-be" combination of differ-- effectv has not been distant placesof use may for simply sliding it over the cylindrical roll, and

finally the possibility of having the fabric specially woven to anylength and width for continuous processing, leads t the application ofthis method to mechanical applicances not yet used for three-dimensionedworking, and to the combination of it with printing and other paperworking processes. In addition, it may be applied to standard equipmentof other industries.

Phosphor bronze, Monel and nickel alloy wire fabrics have proved topossess the greatest resistance against wear and tear occurring duringthe process. If such fabric bearing a pattern should become flattened byextremely long run under heavy pressure, it may readily be reconditionedby re-impressing the pattern or design atthe places oforiginalimpression.

With the described method any individual design or picture, trade-mark,signature, name or lettering, diagram, personalized slogan oradvertisement, coat of arms or any other illustration may be reproducedin a three-dimensional and novel effect, or embossing, indenting,watermarking or perforating effects -may be substituted thereby.

I do not limit myself to the particular details of methods andconstruction set forth in the foregoing speciflcation and illustrated inthe accom- D nyin drawing, as the same refer to and set forth onlycertain embodiments of the invention, and it is obvious that the samemay be modified, within the scope of the appended claims, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.'

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to besecured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. An article for reproducing a three-dimensional design comprising awire fabric the upper and lower surfaces of which having depressionssymmetrical to and opposite each other.

2. A method of embossing sheet material, which comprises pressing saidmaterial with a wire mesh die having a compacted design area.

3. A method of embossing sheet'material, which consists of pressing saidmaterial with a wire mesh die having compacted design areas.

4. A method of embossing a design in sheet material, comprising placingsaid material face to face with a wire mesh die having compacted designareas and subjecting the whole to pressure.

5. A method of embossing sheet material, which comprises pressing twolayers of said material with a wire mesh die therebetween, the upper andlower surfaces of the die having depressions symmetrical to and oppositeeach other.

. 6. A method of decorating sheet material, which comprises pressingsaid material with a wire mesh die having a compacted design area.

EDGAR C. V. OLDOFREDI.

